Hundreds of sincere Redditors got here ahead to share the occasions and other people they witnessed that modified their political leanings. Sometimes, all it takes is a brand new expertise or a scrap of data to shift one’s perspective on life, or, extra typically, the ill-fates of the folks we love most.

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A latest Ask Reddit thread stands as proof that individuals can, in truth, change their minds and even admit they have been incorrect. We don’t typically see it occur on social media, however out in the true world, it does occur.

“When did your political views change because of something you saw in real life?” requested u/ConstantWhore3.

As one commenter identified, numerous the responses observe the same format. Someone was extra right-wing, then one thing horrible occurred to a cherished one they usually have been screwed over by both authorities inaction or a personal company and realized that the system is unfair, then shifted to the left.

Other occasions, this concerned private experiences. Multiple veterans chimed in to share their experiences of realizing that warfare isn’t price it. Others labored with marginalized communities and realized that unhoused folks aren’t inherently dangerous folks.

A few folks did develop extra right-wing or just gained extra sympathy for individuals who are usually in that group, which can be good. The overarching lesson appears to be that extra experiences with extra folks result in a broader perspective and a extra open coronary heart.

What these 20 Redditors witnessed definitely appeared to alter them for the higher.

1. War

“Got sent to Iraq, and it turns out, the war was a bad idea.” —u/NecessaryViolenz

2. The loss of life of a pal

“One of my good associates died simply shy of her twenty fifth birthday from issues as a result of an autoimmune dysfunction. The final dialog we had was about her hopelessness to ever repay her already massively accrued medical money owed. She was the sweetest, most whimsical, most generously loving individual I’ve ever recognized, and I didn’t get to listen to her giggle the final time we talked.

I’ve been a staunch supporter of common healthcare since. I’d gladly pay larger taxes if it means nobody has to undergo the anguish she did within the final of her too younger days.” —u/False_Ride

3. Homelessness

“I was always more on one side than the other, but went further on that side when I saw homelessness. There was a family that my family and I helped. They were working, sober, and didn’t live above their means. Their child was sick with brain cancer, and they lost everything trying to get him treatment. There was no help at all for them.

Then, as if seeing that wasn’t enough, it happened to me, too. It is even worse for single people. I was literally told there were no beds in multiple homeless places. Again, working, no criminal record, never did drugs—nothing—just couldn’t afford a place to live.” —u/Possible-Okra7527

4. Mourning in secret

“When my uncle died suddenly from a heart attack and I met the man who was introduced to the family as his ‘good friend,’ I realized that it’s kind of imperative for me to be outspokenly supportive.

It was heartbreaking seeing this man not just have to mourn the death of his partner, but that he wasn’t even able to truly mourn openly because there were parts of the family that didn’t want people like him alive in the first place.” —u/JackMickus

5. More warfare

“I watched Nixon and Kissinger gaslight the entire country as they secretly murdered a few hundred thousand innocent Cambodian peasants, and poor kids from the US got their draft board notices. My best buddy, dirt poor, got killed by friendly fire on his first day in Nam. My neighbor came home dying of Agent Orange.” —u/Pusfilledonut

6. The outdoors of the bubble

“Talking to people who weren’t in the echo chamber I was raised in, turns out people are people and not politically convenient stereotypes.” —u/Kshi-dragonfly

7. A feminine abuser

“That domestic violence towards males can be a critical challenge in society. When I used to be working at a fast-food restaurant, I had this drama queen co-worker. One day, she got here in, and her palms have been all bloodied and bandaged up. She proceeded to brag the whole day about how she beat up her boyfriend for dishonest on her.

Even extra horrifying was how she appeared comfy in including that he didn’t even battle again. I even requested her if he had hit her prior to now, and she or he stated no.” —u/Regnes

8. The plight of pregnant ladies

“Abortion views flipped 180 when I started knowing women who were pregnant and learned about what can happen to them.” —u/csamsh

9. Casual racism

“People used to bug me about why my little sister was a different color, and I had to keep repeating ‘what sister—all my sisters are just my sisters’ at like 10.” —u/Aggravating-Fish-376

10. Less Fox News

“It’s more of what I no longer saw. I quit watching Fox News. It took less than a year for my views to do a complete 180.” —u/jeophys152

11. Police brutality

“I used to be already ACAB when my dad virtually went to prison for hashish, when he referred to as the police to assist him when his partner had a psychological well being incident and was bodily hurting him.

There’s extra to it; it was one of many worst years of my life.  This was across the identical time as George Floyd.  Hearing the tales of people who find themselves STILL IN PRISON for a similar crime my white dad received probation for opened my eyes.  That’s after I made up my thoughts to march with them.” —u/Practical-Cook5042

12. Domestic violence

“In middle school, my parents didn’t really expose me to politics. I would go over to my girlfriend’s house, and her dad was a staunch conservative Republican. And he would talk to me about his religion, his beliefs, and things he felt that I should know. So on and so forth.

I went over to sleep overnight at my girlfriend’s house, and he got drunk and beat the s*** out of his wife and got on his knees, the next day cried and prayed to God to make him better, and then turned the TV on to his favorite political programming and acted like it never happened.” —u/Init4damo-nay81

13. Fear in public

“At the Mizzou protests in 2016, there was a yikyak (Twitter-like social media) post that someone was going to come shoot all the black people. The next day, I was walking to class and saw a black girl holding her keys between her fingers and walking in a defensive way.

It hit me like a ton of bricks that my fear of being collateral damage was nothing compared to her fear of being a target.” —u/Midnight34

14. Health insurance coverage denied

“I was a young, newly married husband, and the insurance company said my wife had a pre-existing condition and thus her procedure wouldn’t be covered, and I haven’t voted Republican since then.” —u/44035

15. Government work

“I applied for a government job. Realized that if these are the people in charge of the country, then we’re absolutely f****d.” —u/Exotic_Negotiation_4

16. Actual historical past

“In 2001, Georgia modified its state flag design from the one I grew up with. I used to be a 19-year-old, and everybody I knew was mad about it. I heard a lot about the way it was ‘erasing history’ and the way it was ‘history not hate.’

I lastly determined to lookup the historical past of the state flag. The one I grew up with was NOT the unique one and was solely modified within the mid-50’s particularly to include the celebrities and bars (the insurgent flag racists fly) after the passage of Brown v. Board of Education as a f*ck you to black folks.” —u/UnfortunateInformation51

17. Donald Trump

“Former die-hard Republican here: I started to go ‘why TF are people not calling out Republican leadership’s hypocrisy? Why are people supporting a man like Trump? Someone who lacks ethics, morals, and any semblance of decorum or integrity.’

That made me realize they are all liars, and it’s about them feeling superior to others. Then, I realized, maybe feeding kids is okay. Maybe treating people with respect and dignity is okay. Perhaps to tax people who have so much overwhelming wealth, to allow societal advancements that are for the good of the public.” —u/Watch_The_Expanse

18. How politicians deal with disabled folks

“Used to drive for Dial-A-Ride, a transportation service that all cities have to provide per the ADA. I told my boss that passengers were complaining about being late to their appointments and were threatening to report me to the city council.

My boss told me don’t listen to them. He said the city council didn’t actually care if the service accomplished its intended function. All they cared about was meeting the legal requirement of providing the service.” —u/simplyTookayTheBestDump

19. The distinction between wealthy and poor colleges

“When I worked for the St. Louis public school system (And several others in the area, I was a contractor). This included King, Vashon, Normandy High – yes, that Normandy. Also, Kirkwood, the magnet schools, and one of the top private schools in the area.”

“I was never so foolish as to think that there weren’t huge differences in the quality of education a kid could get depending on their school. But I didn’t understand the ‘school to prison pipeline,’ or the way some schools treated their students.” —u/rres9974

20. Neurodivergent incels

“I work with kids who drop out of traditional school because they often fall on the spectrum, or suffer from ADHD, or are gifted. Lots of the boys could and often are classified as incels, and I used to have the general dismissive and judgmental view against incels, like most.

Except that these kids often mean well, struggle with social skills, and are jaded by negative experience after negative experience, and feel punished for it. The world is built for people with well-developed social skills, but like all skills, some people do not possess them, and there is very little room in modern society to develop them at a later age, especially when you’re neurodivergent.” —u/zeekoes

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